Stephen Harper

[Taxation, November 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, we would all like to look at it in its entirety but over here we are prepared to do something as opposed to doing nothing.

Yesterday the Prime Minister refused to give some money back to Canadian taxpayers. In doing so, he broke yet another promise. I remind the Prime Minister that it was only three weeks ago in the House that he stood on his feet and voted to reduce taxes for low and modest income Canadian families.

Will the Prime Minister keep his word, fulfill his commitment and execute the promise in the throne speech?

[The Senate, November 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, in less than a week, Albertans will choose the people they want to have as representatives in the Senate.

News reports today indicate that the Prime Minister may reverse his longstanding opposition and name some elected senators.

Will the Prime Minister confirm to the House that he will name the winners of the election to all three of Alberta's Senate vacancies?

[Right Hon. Ellen Fairclough, November 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Parliament and the country were saddened to learn of the passing of the Right Hon. Ellen Fairclough this past weekend. I use the term saddened cautiously because after such an extraordinary long and productive life I do want to pay tribute on behalf of the Conservative Party to this remarkable woman.

Even before entering the political arena, Ellen Fairclough was already a pioneer of sorts. In her hometown of Hamilton she was an accountant and a successful businesswoman and was so at a time when very few women were represented in these professions.

Her entry into public life allowed her to continue to blaze new trails.

Through a victory in a 1950 by-Election, Ellen Fairclough won a seat here in the House of Commons. At the time, she was the only woman in this chamber.

Here in Ottawa she served her constituents for 13 years with great dignity and famously. Famously she was the first woman in Canadian history to be appointed to cabinet by the Right Hon. John Diefenbaker and she served in four different portfolios. She also had the unique privilege of being the very first woman to ever be designated acting prime minister.

Ellen Fairclough was a woman of dignity and compassion and she brought those qualities to public life in ways that Canadians still appreciate today. As minister of citizenship and immigration, she was instrumental in reversing the Immigration Act to completely eliminate racial discrimination from Canada's immigration policy.

In later years she advocated strongly for the involvement of more women in political life and she remained, right to her very last days, an active and exemplary role model for women, particularly in our own political party.

Her advocacy was based on her steadfast belief, not widely shared at the time, that women were not only capable of contributing but that they must contribute. She never made a big deal about the history that she made herself. She did once say the following, “If a male member of Parliament says anything foolish it is forgotten the next day, but if a women does it, it is repeated endlessly right across the country”.

I will agree with what she said about women. I am not quite sure that is true about men. I only wish it were. In fact, though, it might be evidence of Ellen Fairclough's success that in her case exactly the reverse has happened.

Many kind words have been said about her and her contributions to Canada over the years. It is a testament to her humble and straightforward nature that very few of these words came from Mrs. Fairclough herself.

We will remember her as an activist and humanitarian and as a woman with an enduring commitment to this country and to its values. We thank her and may God rest her soul.

[Taxation, November 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, what is wrong is giving money that is not paid back to corporations when it should be given back to the workers who paid that money.

The problem is that the Liberals think they know more about spending the money than the people who have earned it.

With a surplus of $9 billion, does the Prime Minister intend to reduce income taxes on Canadian families, yes or no?

[Taxation, November 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, what we would like to see and what Canadian families would like to see is that instead of all that tax money going into the pockets of Liberals' friends maybe it would go to the families of this country.

The Prime Minister has $2.5 billion in unpaid TPC loans to corporations, including to his own family corporation, and $1 million just spent on a Challenger photo op tour. With the $9 billion surplus, why can he not give Canadians some of their own tax money back?

[Taxation, November 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, you will recall that during the election the Prime Minister said he could not afford tax cuts. We now know the truth. He was hiding massive surpluses, overtaxing Canadians to support his spending habits.

I ask the Prime Minister, now that the surplus is over four times what he claimed it would be, will he commit to giving Canadians the tax relief they deserve?

[Technology Partnerships Canada, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the report also said that the government was exaggerating the job creation. Once again, the minister keeps on exaggerating today.

Among the receivers of the TPC loans was the Prime Minister's own family company, which received $5 million after some rules were bent. We asked to see the agreement between the company in question and the government. What we got back on the repayment schedule was a completely blacked out repayment schedule.

I wonder if the government would be willing to table the repayment schedule so we could all see it here in the House of Commons.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the minister's answer is that the cheque is in the mail.

In the case of at least two recipients, Western Star and WorldHeart, they took the cash and left the country taking Canadian jobs with them.

Why is the Liberal government giving billions of dollars of hard-earned Canadian workers' money to companies that leave Canadians unemployed?

[Technology Partnerships Canada, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, among the many unfulfilled promises of the government is the promise to clean up government boondoggles.

Today we learned through an Industry Canada report that under Technology Partnerships Canada $2.7 billion of taxpayer money has been loaned out over eight years and only 3% repaid. This report says that the government should finally admit that many of these loans will never be repaid.

Is the government still trying to convince Canadians the loans will be repaid?

[Ellen Fairclough, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to pay tribute to the late Right Hon. Ellen Fairclough who passed away this past Saturday, just two months short of her 100th birthday.

In her professional, volunteer and political life, Ellen Fairclough was a pioneer, trailblazer and a role model. After an initial business career in her hometown of Hamilton as an accountant, she was elected to this place in 1950 as a Conservative MP and at the time the only female member of Parliament.

She served with distinction for 13 years. Under Prime Minister Diefenbaker, Ellen Fairclough was the first woman to be appointed to the federal cabinet and the first woman to be designated acting prime minister.

As minister of citizenship and immigration, she was instrumental in revising the Immigration Act to completely eliminate racial discrimination from Canada's immigration policy. In her later years she was a passionate advocate for the involvement of women in political life.

Ellen Fairclough devoted her life to public service and the advancement of Canadian values. She will be remembered as an activist and humanitarian for her enduring commitment to this country.